Update from Phyllis Schmid

Greetings,

I have a feeling this may be a long chatty letter so just a warning! :0) We have a team here from Florida working on the house we told you about in a previous email – Sam’s house.  A crew of Haitian workmen, STEP teachers and students did the initial work of clearing the shack Sam had put together (previous photo), clearing the rubble around it from the destruction of his original house, building a strong foundation and putting up the walls.  The team will be putting on the roof of Sam’s house and hopefully do the roof on another house so a family of 6 can move in.

This family of 6 is living in a windowless, dark, very small room down a dangerous set of steps.  It is a family with 4 younger children and it is all they can afford.  The husband is trained in welding and does really good work when he can get it.  Now he is also heading up a bloc making business which was begun recently.  So he is fixing up a little house in our neighborhood and if the team can help with the roof he will be able to move his family to a small home but larger and much better than what they have lived in for years now.   Now I just recently saw the place this family is living in and I could not sleep that night thinking of and praying for this family.  The husband is such a nice man, never complaining and always with a smile on his face.  I was reminded of how much I have to be thankful for.

Starting February 12 we have people from Indiana coming to build a structure for STEP faculty offices and student study area on the campus.  Duane Brown, a former co-worker, who helped put up the classroom building last summer is coming to supervise this construction.  His coming is a tremendous help to Bruce and David as he knows the language and his way around working in Haiti. 

Teams are so helpful in getting things done that we just don’t have the time and resources to do ourselves.  It takes a lot of preparation to host teams because we no longer have a fulltime construction/maintenance person so we take on teams along with regular activities.  BUT we receive such a blessing from the men and women who come with hearts open to what God wants to show them and how He wants to use them.   This current team came to our home for dinner last night and it was great to interact with them.  McMartins and Schmids will spend time with them Sunday evening on our patio overlooking the Caribbean (:0}) getting to know them better and sharing how God is at work in their lives and ours.

There are so many as you will see that are living on the hillsides in tents in our neighborhoods.  Much still needs to be done.  Someone recently said “we aren’t a crisis organization like some NGO’s but we do what we can to respond to needs.”

You’ve maybe heard about the arrival of the former “President for Life” (Duvallier) and the possible return of Aristide.  The government just announced the two candidates for the runoff election to be held sometime in the coming months.  If I could get David to sit down and type a few lines about this he’d be much more knowledgeable about it all.  What do I think?  All I can say is I continue to pray because God is the only answer to the situation in our “Haiti Cherie” (dear Haiti). 

Without specifically giving prayer requests in this letter, I think you can see and understand what to pray for.  Continue to pray for Sam’s salvation and the testimony to one unsaved team member from Florida.  Add to that the continued gang activity in our area.  It is so senseless and just causes so much fear and anxiety in people’s lives that already experience enough difficulties in life.   It directly affects STEP as when the shooting is intense classes are canceled.   Some weeks ago a window in our guest unit was broken by a passing bullet.  It isn’t the first time and will probably not be the last time.  I know cities in the states have this kind of violence all the time so we can pray for each other.

Cindy and I were sitting on her swing the other day for a break and the breeze was delightful.  I commented on receiving pictures that morning from Karen showing her car iced over and the trees and bushes coated with ice.  It is interesting that as you all look forward to spring and the end of winter, I love winter here and DO NOT look forward to spring and the return of the high temps and humidity.   Oh well, I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

David and Bruce are going to Florida along with some of the STEP administration for a leadership conference later this month.   David will stay on a few days after it ends to help his sister, Joanne, with some of the details for her care and business matters.  During that time Lois Beadle will come from La Pointe to spend time with me and she,  Cindy and I can have some fun “girl time”! 

I know I’ve referred to Rosita who works in our kitchen 3 days a week.  Her husband, Lamour, is the mission chauffeur.  Well, he is also a tailor and is always interested in any sewing – craft type – that I do.  I made the girls bags with lots of pockets in for Christmas and showed him how to do it.  He loved it.  Now I’m showing him the “log cabin quilt pattern” and different ways he can use it.  We helped him get a nice sewing machine when Missionary Flights was given some to distribute. 

Well, enough for this epistle.  I hope you all stay warm and have a blessed day in God’s house tomorrow.

Love,

Phyllis

Work Team Arrived

There is a work team from Boca Raton, FL at Bolosse.  They will be building a house in the neighborhood for Sam.  There is a picture slidewshow below.

January 25, 2011   Hello Everyone!


Sam and his wife are an elderly couple that live in the neighborhood surrounding us here on the STEP campus. Their house was completely destroyed during the quake as a 3-story house above them fell over breaking down their house. It would break your heart to see the hovel they have been living in that they erected from odds and ends they salvaged or were given – rubble, pieces of tin, a tarp, etc.

Update from Cindy McMartin

January 15, 2011

Dear Friends, 

Wednesday, the whole country of Haiti remembered the day one year ago that changed their lives forever.  All businesses and schools were closed; crowds of people all dressed in white marched in the streets in solemn remembrance of the devastation and lives lost; groups got together with their friends who had lost a loved one to read Scripture, pray together and encourage one another; we heard the services of prayer and praise all around us beginning before dawn and lasting into the evening; we remembered, we praised God for protection and His help in the past year, and we prayed asking Him to accomplish his plan and work for good and the advancement of his Kingdom in the midst of continued seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Pray for Haiti

These days, Haiti is in need of prayer.  Elections results still have no definitive president names.  The former president for life, Jean Claude Duvalier, has returned to Haiti.

God has Haiti in His hands and he knows that plan for the country we all care about so much.  Let us pray together for a peaceful resolution of the election issue. 

Pray:

Haiti UnChanged?

January 10, 2011
by Dwight Lehman, International Director

I viewed a video and read an article today from CNN titled, One year later, Haiti's symbolic sites are sadly unchanged. With all due respect to the writer and the news organization, the symbolic sites may be sadly unchanged but the Haitian people are changed...most for the rest of their lives on this earth.

In typical fashion for US reporting, the focus is on the external. But Haiti has changed. There would be no Haiti without the resilient, friendly and resourceful people that make up that country. Let me relate how I see Haiti changed.

Answered Prayer

Thanks so much for your prayers. 

• The streets are more open so people can get out and around to purchase supplies though some barricades are still in place. 
• Praise the Lord the Mears were able to fly out on Missionary Flights yesterday to Fort Pierce Florida so will be able to attend Grace's college graduation in California. MFI usually comes to Port on Thursdays but due to the problems they waited until Friday and had room so Mears were able to get out.  They live on the other side of town closer to the airport and were able to take back roads to get there. 
• The Lord's answer concerning us thus far is that we will not fly out on Monday but have seats on the American Airlines flight on Wednesday the 15th. The airlines called Amy last night and gave her this information.

We are seeing these additional days in Haiti as an opportunity to get work done especially for David who was so far behind in administrative responsibilities.  He will give his exam on Tuesday afternoon if the seminary opens.  He can also start writing his materials for his January La Coma seminar and I can begin typing it all here.  He will still have to work on it in Lancaster probably but at least can get a good start on it here. 

Please pray that Wednesday goes well and we can get our flight out.  David has a dentist appt on Friday the 17th and our eye appointments are on Monday the 20th.

Thanks again for being such faithful partners in prayer with us.

Phyllis

Thursday Update

Not sure what news you all are hearing but first let me say we are fine and not even hearing a lot of shooting or anything in our area as of 8 am Thursday morning. It is VERY quiet which is not normal. We do know that the airport is closed today as it was yesterday. The road we use to leave our area is barricaded. Obviously we won't try to pass through the barricades. They aren't there for us but to close down travel in our area.

We are the secondary route from south of Port-au-Prince into the city so this successfully blocks traffic coming and going south.

We just received word that MFI is NOT flying into Haiti today because of the situation.

I'm sure there will be no seminary classes tonight and maybe not tomorrow.  Next week is exams so not sure what will happen. David was to give his exam on Saturday so we could leave on Monday.

Please pray for several things:

1. The Haitian people pretty much live day to day with provisions and everything being blocked this way for very long will make it hard for people to buy what they need.

2. Rich and Carol Mears and their son Ricky are scheduled to fly to the states tomorrow for their daughter's graduation from college. God can open the way but the "not knowing what will happen" is difficult. Imagine yourself in their shoes and pray accordingly.

3. Our flight to PA on Monday isn't nearly as "vital" as the Mears but it will still be a big disappointment if that is not possible. 

The Lord knows HIS plans for each one of us. He is actually sending a gentle rain right now - we woke up to it and that is extremely unusual during our dry season but rain usually keeps people out of the streets. 

I'm working on the notes for one of David's classes next semester as well as baking some "goodies" for some of our Haitian friends before I leave. Going ahead and taking one step at a time. Thanks for praying.

Love,
Phyllis